ICMR Soon to Start Research On Ambulatory Care for NCDs in Public Health Care Systems in India

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has invited Expression of Interest (EOI) for Implementation Research Study on Ambulatory Care for Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Public Health Care Systems in India. The EoI is aimed at developing practical, scalable, and sustainable strategies that provide evidence-based effective management of non- communicable diseases in India's public healthcare systems under the National Programme for Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD).

There is a need to deliver effective NCD ambulatory care in public primary health care systems using a combination of strategies, including the use of available point-of-care testing for diagnosis and follow-up, capacity building of providers to reduce physician inertia, use of easy-to-use treatment algorithms, improved supply logistics of essential drugs and diagnostics and simplified data information systems.

One such example is the India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI), built on the existing framework of NP-NCD since 2018, which is being implemented in 140+ districts of the country and has demonstrated reasonable success in registering and retaining patients with hypertension and controlling blood pressure. The IHCI was built on the World Health Organization (WHO)’s HEARTS strategies- simple drug and dose-specific protocols, uninterrupted availability of medications, patient-centered care, a team-based approach with task sharing, and a reliable information system.

The EOI documents will be evaluated and shortlisted by the ICMR. The ICMR expert team will screen the applications using five major criteria like relevance and understanding of the problem, intervention implementation strategies and research methods, research team composition, capacity to conduct implementation research and relationship with the health system. The EOI can be submitted through ONLINE MODE ONLY by scientists/professionals with regular employment in medical institutes/research institutes/universities/ colleges/government and semi-government organizations and NGOs (documentary evidence of their recognition, including a Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) certificate should be available). Last date for submission of EOI is July 16, 2023 and shortlisting of EoIs will happen on August 15, 2023.